Discussions of decolonization often only enable intellectualization of
the topic, not action or transformation. But I Meant Well: Unlearning
Colonial Ways of Doing Good, enables readers to see coloniality in
their everyday lives, to confess their complicity, to begin to delink
from colonial ways of doing good, and to detect emerging noncolonial
ways. The book is written for those who want to “make the world a
better place”, to lessen misery and inequality through careers in
fields like global health, humanitarian aid, nonprofit charities, and
harnessing market forces for good. The author, James Thomas, has
worked in global health as an epidemiologist and ethicist in more than
40 countries. Not content to be just an academic, he founded an
organization in East Africa that sought to provide an alternative to
the typical donor-recipient model of nonprofits. Early in his career,
he became aware that as a White male descendant of colonial settlers,
many modern social systems, including those claiming to improve the
world, were created by and for people like him. He came to see that he
had uncritically adopted colonial narratives and methods. Inspired by
Kenyan novelist, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Thomas sought to decolonize
his mind, a process he describes as unlearning colonial ways. Those
who read this book will be guided on a similar journey. Drawing from a
wide variety of disciplines - including sociology, history, religion,
philosophy, economics, psychobiology, and political science - Thomas
presents a jargon-free narrative that draws the reader in. Students of
public health, social work, medicine, nursing, business and more will
find the journey not just informative but personally and
professionally transformative.
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Unlearning Colonial Ways of Doing Good
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781837111855
Publisert
2025
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Ethics Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter